Golf ball picker and collector

ABSTRACT

A golf ball collector for use at driving ranges; the collector including gathering arms of a specific shape to collect and direct the balls to a central area and threshold over which the balls are directed into a box where the balls are collected. The arms may be articulated for more complete contact with the ground, and means are provided to keep the balls within the collector. Removable carriers may also be provided for easy unloading.

United States Patent [191 Rettedal July 23, 1974 1 GOLF BALL PICKER AND COLLECTOR [76] Inventor: Cecil D. Rettedal, 2700 S. Lincoln,

Sioux Falls, S. Dak. 57103 [22] Filed: Sept. 18, 1972 [21] Appl. No.: 290,176

[52] 11.8. Cl. 214/350, 56/328 R [51] Int. Cl 1360p l/00 [58] Field of Search 214/350, 351, 353, 354,

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS Wells 214/356 Kazamjian Bailey Wittek 3,593,868 7/1971 Folz 214/356 3,630,401 12/1971 Gustafson 214/356 3,664,532 5/1972 Gustafson 214/356 Primary Examiner-Albert .1. Makay 5 7 ABSTRACT A golf ball collector for use at driving ranges; the collector including gathering arms of a specific shape to collect and direct the balls to a central area and threshold over which the balls are directed into a box where the balls are collected. The arms may be articulated for more complete contact with the ground, and means are provided to keep the balls within'the collector. Removable carriers may also be provided for easy unloading.

1 Claim, 6 Drawing Figures PATENTED JUL 2 31974 SHEET 2 BF 3 GOLF BALL PICKER AND COLLECTOR BACKGROUND AND SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION At the various golf driving ranges where a golfer may practice his swing by hitting a quantity of golf balls into a circumscribed area, considerable quantities of balls are used since each golfer probably hits no fewer than 25 balls. Since all balls are hit into open area from which the only return is by picking up the balls and physically carrying them back to the place where new containers are filled with balls for the next users, the return is necessarily slow. The net result is that either the operator must have a tremendous supply of ,balls, or he must have a quick method of returning the balls from the range. I

Several devices for picking upballs and gathering them into a container for return have been proposed. Most of these are slow and complex. The type most generally suggested uses a mechanism in which-the balls are grasped by friction means between two pressure discs or between pneumatic tires or the like and then are stripped off and discharged into containers. This machine has at least two shortcomings.

First, because the ball must be engaged between substantially parallel disks, there must either be a very large number of disks, or else, the balls will lie in the area between the adjacent disks and many balls will not be picked up.

Secondly, the use of a compression means to hold the ball requires thatthe ball must stand high enough between the disks so that at least half the ball is engaged therebetween. If the ball does not extend to that point, the pressure of the disks on the sides of the ball will simply push the ball outwardly from the disc and it will not be grasped. Thus, any ball which drops into soft ground and is partly buried even ifonly a small part sinks into the ground will not extend above ground far enough to be firmly grasped between the disks and will be missed. This partially buried position occurs not only because of the impact of the ball on falling, but is often contributed to by the machine or the towing tractor running over the ball.

A second type of machine is a sweeper type mechanism in which transverse paddles operated by the machine, strike or carry the balls up an incline or around a curved structure to carry or deliver the balls to a container. This machine avoids the problem of balls skipped because they lie between parallel disks since the paddle extends completely across the width of the machine. It does not completely avoid the problem of the half buried ball. In general the machine does pick up the partially buried ball better than the disk type machine. However, unless the paddle passes its very lowest point right where the ball is located, there still is a high incidence of missed balls. Otherwise, the paddle may serve to press the ball downward into its socket in the earth rather than pick it out.

My device is considerably less complex than those previously described. It is much less expensive and therefore can be more widely used.

In addition, my device is much more efficient and more speedy. Where the previously used devices are virtually unable to retrieve balls which have been partially buried, my device does pick them up neatly and conveniently. Therefore, since my device does get nearly all the balls, I can pick up a far higher percentage of those which have been hit. The result is a much more efficient operation. This is particularly true where the ground is wet. In this condition of the ground the other devices tend to drive the ball deeper into the soft ground. My device, on the other hand, tends to raise the ball out of the ground and therefore picks it up rather than losing it. This may be a distinct advantage in the spring when the ground is wet or in locations where moist ground may be a continuing problem.

Furthermore, my device operates best at higher speeds. This fact is an obvious advantage since less time is then occupied by the operator in retrieving balls. For the small range, this means that a single attendant can occasionally break out and retrieve a lot of balls. For the larger range, it means fewer employees.

I also provide for an efficient and inexpensive smaller sized unit which can readily be used by the teaching pro at any golf course by simply attaching the device to a golf cart instead of using a tractor on a large unit.

FIGURES FIG. 6 is a top plan view of a smaller embodiment of my invention for use with a golf cart or the like.

DESCRIPTION Briefly, my invention comprises a substantially V- shaped structure or a plurality of such structures placed side by side so as to form gathering devices. At the vertex of each V, I provide a collecting box having a threshold over which the balls are impelled and thus collected in the box. The V-shaped structures are made of bars of a generally rectangular shape for the very particular purpose of dislodging partially buried balls.

More specifically and referring to the drawings, my device is preferably formed as a W in plan form as best shown in FIG. 1. It can either be pushed by a tractor 9 as shown in that figure or pulled by a chain 10.

The outer legs 11 of the W-shape are preferably longer than the center portion 12 so that the device sweeps a fairly broad path, but keeps the catch boxes 13 reasonably close together. The outer tips 14 of the legs may be curved upwardly so that they will ride smoothly over the ground. The boxes 13 are attached to a cross brace 15 which may be a square tube as shown, but is not necessarily of that shape. A forward support brace 16 is also provided to give added support to the W-shaped framework. The chain 10 may be at tached to this brace as shown. The brace 15 supports the rear part of the legs and provides ready means to support the boxes 13 which may be attached thereto by means of bolts 17.

The elements of the framework including the legs 11 and the center portion 12 are built up of rectangular members. The general shape shown in FIG. 5 is preferred, but any member having a nearly rightangle edge at the forward lower corner may be used.The provision of a vertical face 18 on the framework is important. I have discovered that partially embedded balls are the most difficult to pick up. With the type of machine which holds the balls between discs or tires or the like, the machine simply slides off the upper surfaces of such ball. With the sweeper type, the sweep usually hits the upper surface and bats the ball downwardly instead of lifting it out. With my device, the vertical face 18 allows a flat surface to hit the side of a ball 29. Unless the ball is substantially more than half buried, the pressure on the side of the ball causes it to roll upwardly and out of its socket in the ground (See FIG. 5) and it will then be collected in the same manner as any other ball on the surface. A surprising and favorable side effect is that faster movement of my device results in even better dislodging of the balls. Apparently the impact of a vertical face against the ball causes the ball to spring out of the socket in which it lies. Thus faster collection results also in more complete collection.

The collecting boxes 13 are placed at the lower points of the W-shape. Each box is enclosed on three sides. The shape of the sides of the box are not important except that each box should be deep enough to collect an adequate number of balls. The rear of the box should also be high enough to prevent incoming balls from bouncing over the rear. It will be noticed that the brace 15 may have some effect here also in deflecting the balls downwardly. Also, I prefer to use a screen 19 between the legs 11 and center section 12 to keep the balls from bouncing over the legs.

The front of the box 13 is open except for a slightly raised threshold 20. As the balls are collected between the framework members, they are guided back to the threshold. They then, because of inertia, roll up over the threshold 20 into the box 13. The bottom 21 of the box may be covered with a napped or a carpet material. The rolling and agitation of the balls on that surface has a cleaning effect so that less washing may be necessary before the balls are returned to a customer.

An alternative type of box or container is shown in FIG. 4. This container has an outer frame 22 which carries the threshold 20, and which is fastened to the brace 15 by the bolts 17 in a manner similar to that used in mounting the box 13. A removable basket 23 having handles 24 for carrying fits into the frame. The end of the basket 23 adjacent the legs 11 is open to admit the balls coming in over the threshold 20. The sides and bottom of these baskets may be formed of screen or open material so that dirt may fall out.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, my device is constructed to be pushed by a tractor 9 although .it may be towed. In order to push the device, it is necessary to build up a pushing frame. This may consist of pushing members 25 extending from the brace 15 to a point where they can be fixed to the tractor; and a transverse brace 26. Diagonal braces 27 may be used to make the frame more rigid. Fastening between the pushing member and its connected parts may be by ball and socket joints 38 as shown in FIG. 2.

It will be apparent that this much of the assembly may be rigid and move as the tractor moves. The wide spread of the legs 11 makes such movement troublesome in uneven ground. Therefore it is necessary to provide some means of allowing the legs to flex and ride over the unevenness. l accomplish this in my preferred device by forming the outer legs 11 of a plurality of members jointed together by a pair of plates 30 pivotally connected to at least one of the members. In this way, the leg 11 is fully articulated in a vertical plane and can follow the surface of the ground more completely. Although I show two pivotal connections in the one leg, it will be apparent that more or fewer could be used depending on how much irregularity might be anticipated.

The operation of the device will be apparent from the above description. To summarize, the device may be either towed or pushed. As it moves across the ground, the surfaces 18 strike the balls, dislodging nearly all including those partially embedded in the ground. These balls are directed toward the thresholds 20 on the boxes. Because of the forward motion of the device and the inertia of the balls, they are thrown over the threshold and into the boxes. Only those balls directly in line of the threshold receive any different impact. Such balls, if not embedded may be received directly into the boxes. Even if partially embedded, most balls are dislodged without difficulty. As the balls are collected in the box, they roll around and are agitated by the entrance of other balls, and thereby clean themselves on the carpeted bottom of the box 13 or cause the dirt to fall out of the basket 23. When the boxes are reasonably full they can be emptied and the balls cleaned and replaced in the buckets for the next customer.

For use on smaller ranges, I envision that my device may also be adapted to be pushed or pulled by a smaller unit such as a golf cart 32 as shown in FIG. 6. In most respects this device is similar in form to a half of the larger device. The pushing frame 33 is similar but smaller. The legs 34 may be rigid and not articulated but do have the rounded tips 35. Cross braces 36 which may be used for a pulling chain or cable 37 and rear brace 38 are similar to the longer ones used in the original device. A single box 13 exactly the same as in the original may be fastened by bolts 17 to the brace 38.

The operation of this smaller device is, in all respects, similar to that of the larger one originally described.

I claim:

1. A golf ball retriever comprising a framework adapted to engage the ground and a plurality of box means attached to said framework, said framework having outer legs with substantially vertical surfaces, said outer legs extending outwardly from the outer part of said box means to sweep a path substantially wider than the distance between said box means and having an inner member with a substantially vertical surface located between said box means, said framework being open adjacent to said box means .whereby balls are guided by said framework into said box means, means on said framework for engaging said framework to a propelling device, said box means having a lower surface covered with a napped material for cleaning said balls as they enter said box means. 

1. A golf ball retriever comprising a framework adapted to engage the ground and a plurality of box means attached to said framework, said framework having outer legs with substantially vertical surfaces, said outer legs extending outwardly from the outer part of said box means to sweep a path substantially wider than the distance between said box means and having an inner member with a substantially vertical surface located between said box means, said framework being open adjacent to said box means whereby balls are guided by said framework into said box means, means on said framework for engaging said framework to a propelling device, said box means having a lower surface covered with a napped material for cleaning said balls as they enter said box means. 